Repeat offender on parole gets probation, no jail, for felony DWI

Driver gets probation; Soares urges "MADD to be a little madder"

Robert Gavi, Times Union

By Robert Gavin

Updated 10:59 pm, Friday, March 14, 2014

Assistant District Attorney Mary Tanner-Richter, left, and District Attorney David Soares spoke to the media Friday afternoon, March 14, 2014, about the DWI sentence given Thursday to Jack Frazier, a 4-time drunk driver and parolee who escaped any jail time. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

District Attorney David Soares spoke to the media Friday afternoon, March 14, 2014, about the DWI sentence given Thursday to Jack Frazier, a 4-time drunk driver and parolee who escaped any jail time. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

District Attorney David Soares spoke to the media Friday afternoon,...

ALBANY — District Attorney David Soares called on drunken driving opponents to "let their voices be heard" Friday after a judge allowed a four-time offender on parole to escape prison time for his latest DWI-related offense.

"We want MADD to be a little madder, so to speak," Soares said, joined by Assistant District Attorney Mary Tanner-Richter, who runs his office's bureau that prosecutes vehicular crimes. "MADD needs to have more advocacy in the criminal courts in Albany County. There — I've said it."

Soares said the advocates must "let their voices be heard with respect to how they feel about reckless and careless people on the road consuming alcohol and operating motor vehicles," adding, "That has to come from a source other than this office."

Lynch gave Jack Frazier, 28, of Schenectady, five years probation for felony DWI and reckless endangerment. Frazier, while on parole, drunkenly led Colonie police on a chase in his all-terrain vehicle on May 26. Frazier, who crashed into a marsh before he was arrested, could have faced 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison.

The sentence is the latest point of contention between Soares and Lynch, who have had several legal differences of opinion since Lynch took the bench last year.

Soares risked discipline if he outright criticized a judge: He was censured in 2012 for remarks he made about Judge Stephen Herrick's dismissal of Soares' high-profile steroids case.

But Soares did say, when asked, that the sentence was more lenient than punishments in similar cases.

"There's a tremendous disparity there," the district attorney said. "There are people who are going to state prison every week ... as a result of operating a motor vehicle with alcohol and placing others at risk."

Frazier pleaded guilty to an entire indictment that accused him of driving with a blood alcohol level of .17 — more than twice the state's legal limit of .08. Soares said pleading guilty to the indictment removed prosecutors from having input on sentencing. He said such pleas have been taking place around the county. Asked if that has happened frequently in cases before Lynch, Soares said: "I think the record on that issue speaks for itself."

Soares later said: "The reason I'm having this interview is not to disparage our judge. The reason I'm having this interview is to make sure that the public understands the decision that came out, specifically to this case, it should not reflect the position of the district attorney's office here in Albany County."

A news release issued by Soares' office to announce the sentencing came under the headline: "4 Time Repeat Drunk Driver Avoids Incarceration After Fleeing From Police on ATV and Crashing Into a Marsh." It then stated: "Defendant Was On Parole for DWI at Time of Arrest."

Such press releases are generally highlight convictions and the sentence awaiting convicted criminals — not the fact that they will not spend a day behind bars.

"The (prosecution) advocated for state prison time at sentencing today," the news release stated. "The judge then sentenced Frazier to probation."